Dønnesfjord Church ( no, Dønnesfjord kirke) is a former

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...

Hasvik Municipality Hasvik ( sme, Ákŋoluovtta gielda; fkv, Hasviikan komuuni) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Breivikbotn ...

Troms og Finnmark Troms og Finnmark (; sme, Romsa ja Finnmárku ; fkv, Tromssa ja Finmarkku; fi, Tromssa ja Finnmark, lit. Troms and Finnmark in English language, English), is a Counties of Norway, county in Northern Norway, northern Norway that was established ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. It is located in the village of Dønnesfjord on the island of

Sørøya Sørøya ( sme, Sállan) is Norway's fourth largest island in terms of area. The island is divided between Hasvik Municipality and Hammerfest Municipality. It is often claimed to be "one of the most beautiful" of the islands in Norway. In 2018 ...

. It was one of the churches for the Hasvik

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

which is part of the Alta prosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

) in the

Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland Nord-Hålogaland ( no, Nord-Hålogaland bispedømme) is a diocese in the Church of Norway. It covers the Church of Norway churches in Troms og Finnmark county as well as in the territory of Svalbard. The diocese is seated in the city of Tromsø ...

. The white, wooden church was built on this site in 1952 and it was closed in 2003. The church seats about 120 people.

History

On 15 December 1885, a royal decree gave permission to build a church in the fishing village of Galten, on the shores of the Galtenfjorden to serve all the fisherman and whalers living on this part of the island of

. The

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Jacob Wilhelm Nordan Jacob Wilhelm Nordan (23 February 1824 – 11 April 1892) was a Danish-born, Norwegian architect. During his career, he was one of the most prolific church architects in Norway. Biography Nordan was born in Copenhagen, Denmark and came to Norw ...

was the designer of the building that was completed in 1888. The

consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

of the church was scheduled to be on 24 August 1888, and all the local residents gathered at the new church, but due to bad weather and high seas, the clergy members who were to perform the consecration were not able to make it. The villagers had to go home and the consecration took place on 28 August instead. In 1944, when the

German occupation of Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the ...

was ending and the German army was burning all the villages in Norway, the entire village of Galten was burned. This church, however, survived because the fire in this church went out shortly after it was set. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, it was decided to not rebuild the village of Galten since it was in a very isolated location, only accessible by boat. The church was then moved to the nearby village of Dønnesfjord, across the fjord. The rebuilt church was reopened in 1952. Over time, the village of Dønnesfjord depopulated to the point where no one lived there anymore and in 2003, the church was closed and regular services were no longer held there. Since then, one service is held each summer in addition to special occasions such as weddings. In 2004, the parish wanted to give away the church to someone could take it down and reuse the materials, but the

Riksantikvaren The Directorate for Cultural Heritage ( no, Riksantikvaren or ''Direktoratet for kulturminneforvaltning'') is a government agency responsible for the management of cultural heritage in Norway. Subordinate to the Norwegian Ministry of the Enviro ...

board officially designated the church as a preserved cultural site, so with this protection, the church has to remain standing. The church was renovated in 2005 for a cost of that was jointly financed by the Riksantikvaren, the county, and the parish.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donnesfjord Church Hasvik Churches in Finnmark Wooden churches in Norway 19th-century Church of Norway church buildings Churches completed in 1888 1888 establishments in Norway 2003 disestablishments in Norway Long churches in Norway

History

See also

References